Austin Kudos on the Emmis Earnings Call

1-9-2015

When Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan ran down the numbers during the Emmis Conference Call Thursday, Jeff sounded like he had a little pride in his voice when he mentioned Austin having a "very strong plus 7 market." Austin seems to be performing quite well for Emmis. Radio Ink reached out to Austin Emmis Market Manager Scott Gillmore for some insight into the good numbers coming out of Austin.

Even with the rapid decline in the oil market, Texas in general just keeps galloping along. Scott Gillmore, Emmis Austin Market Manager is bullish on the Austin economy, "The Austin economy is very healthy, with some of the lowest unemployment in Texas (a state that compares well nationally). In addition, tech, automotive, retail and service industries did very well in 2014 and should do about as well in 2015."

So what are Gillmore's radio colleagues saying about how the 2015 Austin economy is looking? Scott says, "The forecast in Austin is looking strong. Oil prices, while good for consumers, can hurt oil producing states like Texas, and that?s a concern in 2015. However, Austin?s economy is not energy heavy like some other cities in the state. Calendar Q1 is already off to a good start."

Keeping it local, it's an Austin buzz-phrase, and Gillmore seems to follow it in his business strategies. Scott says, "I think our cluster is doing well because we are so locally responsive to local listeners and advertisers. We have many great long-standing relationships with both listeners and advertisers." He also credits his staff, emphasizing the strength of the clusters "local strong personalities, strong local salespeople, local events, local mobile and digital content to engage the community." Notice that "local" word keeps popping up in the conversation. Scott goes on to say, "Our competitors in this market are pretty good too, and that?s good for radio and the community!   

Emmis Austin properties: news/talk KLBJ 590 AM/99.7-FM, rocker 93.7 KLBJ, alternative 101X, 103.5 Bob FM, hispanic 107.1 La Zeta and Latino 102.7, and AAA KGSR.

Changing gears, Gillmore was willing to weigh in on the recent Radio Ink story highlighting Station Security in the Age of Terrorism. Gillmore stated, "I think everyone has a heightened awareness of security these days and radio operators with news/talk stations or talk & personality based shows need to be even more vigilant. Emmis Austin Radio has made numerous efforts to improve safety and security in recent years. From simple things like increased outdoor lighting and better secured entrances, to video cameras, increased employee awareness and 24/7/365 building security, we always hope that we are doing a lot of work in this area that we?ll never need!"

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Kudos to Entercom's KEZW in Colorado

5-29-2012
Thanks to KEZW-AM in Denver and with the help of listeners, veterans and the local community the station hit its goal and raised $400,000 for the Colorado Freedom Memorial Foundation that was needed to break ground and to complete the project. The City of Aurora donated the land for the Memorial as part of Springhill Park, directly north of Buckley Air Force Base. For the entire month of May KEZW honored fallen soldiers during Freedom Month and raised awareness for the Colorado Freedom Memorial which once built will be a glass wall, etched with more than 6,000 Colorado veteran names.

KEZW PD Rick Crandall said, "This was the realization of 12-years of dreaming, planning, praying and never letting go of the idea a Memorial to Colorado?s fallen veterans was a good thing.  It?s been great seeing how many people are excited about this dream becoming a reality and I most happy for the families of the fallen who will now have a place to go and see our gratitude for their sacrifice.?

The veteran?s etched on the wall will include all Colorado veterans who have been killed in action including 102 in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Once complete the Memorial will give a place to remember and pay respect to those service men and women who gave their lives.

To learn more about the Memorial please go to http://www.cfmf.net/. 

Has your station done something great for the local community? Send details and pictures to edryantheeditor@gmail.com

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Kudos To Dave Ramsey. He Hits 500.

It was a Bonneville station that put Ramsey over the top, KTTH-AM in Seattle, but it was the years and years of successful broadcasting that got him there. Ramsey's show is now the 3rd largest radio program in America behind Rush and Hannity. Ramsey told Radio Ink "The secret to great talk radio is it has to be entertaining. It has to be fun. There has to be some humor in there, occassionaly. There has to be some passion in there. It's not just the message. How the message is delivered is an absolute key."

Ramsey who is on the current cover of Radio Ink magazine says, "there are 3 or 4 things that caused us to get to this level. One is, we bring ratings. We?ve done that across the board. When we don't, we get taken off just like everybody else. Not everything is a fit. We?ve brought ratings on mainstream talk radio in major dayparts, for twenty years."

Ramsey does not sit at home counting his money and cutting up his credit cards. He does his "Total Money Makeover" event 8-10 times a year in front of about 8-12 thousand people. He visits individual local markets doing one-off's that are things for that local market. He gives an example of "a Care-a-Thon for a cancer center down in Atlanta for WSB. We also picked a bunch of our markets that we haven't been to in a while and inserted them into this book tour."

Dave Ramsey is a personal money management expert and best-selling author of EntreLeadership, The Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace and More Than Enough. To ask Ramsey a question, call in during the show at 1-888-825-5225 or send an e-mail to daveonair@daveramsey.com. For more information about ?The Dave Ramsey Show? visit www.daveramsey.com. Follow the show on Twitter: @RamseyShow.

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Kudos to KLOS For Massive Blood Drive.

Citadel Classic rocker KLOS in Los Angeles collected 10,600 units of blood for the Red Cross in the station's 30th year of the drive. The KLOS Blood Drive - considered the nation?s largest blood drive ? concluded a five day, five county, twenty-site tour that yielded 10,600 units of blood.  Over the past 30 years, the KLOS Blood Drive has generated over 140,227 units of blood, potentially saving 421,861 lives.

In 1981, 95.5 KLOS organized its first American Red Cross Blood Drive at Los Angeles High School, collecting 250 pints of blood.  Twenty-nine years later, the KLOS Blood Drive has grown from a single-site, single-day event to a multi-site, multi-day event, making it the largest media-sponsored blood drive in the country.  With the help of thousands of dedicated Southern California blood donors, the KLOS Blood Drive has collected over 126,630 units of blood since 1981 for patients in need.  For additional information, please visit www.RedCrossBlood.org/SoCal.

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AUDIO: Caller Gives Radio Station Big Kudos For Tornado Info

Massachusetts was the latest state Mother Nature belched a tornado on. It happened earlier this week killing a handful of people. WMAS Springfield market manager says his crew broadcast right through the tornado when cell service went down. And, again the only way people in cars and trapped in buildings could stay connected?In a connected world - was through radio. Here a clip of a listener talking to The Kellogg Krew. Chris Kelloff, Dina McMahon and Lopez. LISTEN

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More Kudos For The Zimmer Radio Group in Joplin

The latest to congratulate the Zimmer team on a job well done is The Los Angelas Times. In a piece entitled "Joplin Radio Stations Become Lifeline for Tornado-Stricken Residents" the paper highlights how broadcasters are turning into unofficial public information officers as callers ask for information on loved ones or make offers of assistance. And the paper points out that in the age of tweets and likes and blogs and texts, the good old fashioned transmitter, tower and telephone are the glue holding the tiny town of Joplin together. "In a town where Internet and mobile connections have become scarcities after an Old Testament-style disaster crippled new media, Zimmer Radio's untouched towers have made its six stations essential listening."

Read the entire article HERE

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